Abstract: The MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard brings forth a lot for computer enthusiasts to get excited about, not the least of which are dual PCI Express x16 videocard slots, (4) USB 3.0 ports, (6) SATA 6GB/s ports and specialized tools for seasoned overclockers. For example, if you're one to break out a digital multimeter while overclocking there are handy voltage read points next to the boards' DDR3 memory slots.78% Rating:

So what exactly are ClickBIOS, Military Class II, OC Genie II or Control
Center II? Let's run them down now, starting from the top.

CickBIOS II is MSI's name the replacement to the old keyboard-only BIOS
format we've all used for many many years. The new, Unified Extensible
Firmware Interface (UEFI) can be thought of simply as a BIOS that works
with a mouse. UEFI
is an OS-firmware interface which is technically called a 'Boot Service'.
Motherboards that adopt UEFI should be easier to configure and will be able to offer a
broad range of thin-client troubleshooting applications. As long as manufacturers don't butcher
the General User Interface (GUI) with incomprehensible dragons and cryptic icons it is
a great tool for PC setup, overclocking and testing.

Military Class II is the designation for MSI's allegiance
to certain mil-spec certified electrical components in the P67A-GD65's onboard
Voltage Regulator Module (VRM
). The VRM is the part of the motherboard right next to
the CPU socket. It is responsible for delivering clean, stable power to
the LGA1155 processor regardless of heat or overclocking pressures.

The MSI approach with 'Military Class II' is to select
compact solid state electrical parts that are mil-spec rated for this important
circuitry. It does not mean the entire motherboard is mil-spec rated.... the
warranty is only three years
after all.

The components include Tantalum core conductive polymerized capacitors
(Hi-c Cap), super ferrite RF choke's and solid-state low ESR conductive polymer
capacitors throughout the rest of the platform. The Tantalum capacitors are
likely the mil-spec rated electrical component in question. Tantalum caps last
substantially longer than electrolytic or polymerized caps and are very compact
and thermally stable.

Control Center II is the second in a long line of software tools that make it
easier to monitor the parameters of a board like the MSI Computer P67A-GD65 from
the comforts of Windows 7. With it you can load overclocking profiles, overclock
manually, change voltages, set fan speeds and all that fun stuff.

Next up,
an up close look at all the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard has to offer.